NATIONAL Director for Farmers Development Cooperatives Union (FDCU) Judith Mulemba has appealed to farmers to diversify and venture into Green Charcoal business.
Ms Mulemba said is the Green Charcoal business is profitable and can contribute to reducing the indiscriminate cutting down of trees.
Ms Mulemba told Bukwasho Cooperative members to venture into the green Charcoal business as it does not involve the cutting down of trees.
She explained that Green Charcoal is made from using maize shells moderately burnt and then pounded and thereafter mixed with cooked Cassava porridge used as glue.
ZANIS reports that she was speaking in Kimpwena compound of Solwezi District during the demonstration on how to make charcoal using grass, leaves from trees and maize shells,
She said the green Charcoal is very effective and can be able to burn for three hours with just one load on the brazier.
“I was trained by Kansanshi Mine to make Charcoal from grass, leaves and maize shells,” she said.
Ms Mulemba said she brought Mapopo cooperative members from Chief Kapijimpanga who are involved in Green Charcoal production to teach members of Bukwasho cooperative in Kimpwena compound based in Solwezi’s Central Business District on how to make Green Charcoal.
“What I am doing today with my members from Mapopo Club is making charcoal from the Maize shells. When we collect the maize shells, we burn them after burning them, we pound them, after pounding we make a paste of cassava porridge, we mix and after mixing we have the mould. The mould is what we use to give sharp to the newly produced charcoal,” she said.
She has encouraged farmers to avoid deforestation by going all out for Green Charcoal production.
Ms Mulemba said the beauty of the Green Charcoal is that it has a market readily available through Kansanshi Mine which buys the product to melt various things in the mine.
She has since appealed to the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to support the Green Charcoal idea in order to save the environment from deforestation.
Ms Mulemba said the reason why charcoal burners have continued to cut down trees is because there is no alternative for them.
She said Green Charcoal is the solution to deforestation.
